"Granger, Hermione." Professor McGonagall calls. Hermione takes a deep breath before climbing the steps.
"Mental, that one. I'm tellin' you." Ron says. Artemis glares at him and scoffs.
"Don't be rude. I think she's great." She scolds. Ron rolls his eyes but pays attention as the hat is placed on Hermione's head. The hat thinks for a while before sorting her.
"Gryffindor!" The hat shouts. The Gryffindor table cheers, and Artemis smiles and pulls her new friend in for a quick hug before she takes a seat.
The students continued being sorted and Artemis struggles to pay attention as she begins to doubt if she'll be in Gryffindor like the rest of her family. She focuses back on the sorting as Malfoy's name is called. The hat has just barely touched his head as he shouts Slytherin.
"There's not a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin." Ron tells Harry.
"That doesn't mean all Slytherin's are bad." Artemis says.
"You don't think Malfoy's bad?" He asks, raising his eyebrow at her.
"I didn't say that. I'm just saying that just because someone is sorted into Slytherin doesn't mean that they will be." She replies, annoyed Ron thinks so.
Ron rolls his eyes and focuses back on the students being sorted. Harry's eyes drift to the professors and he hisses in pain as he meets the eyes of one of them, rubbing his scar.
"Are you all right? What's wrong?" Artemis asks, concerned for her friend.
"Nothing. Nothing. I'm fine." He tells her. They continue watching the sorting until the next name is called.
"Potter, Harry." McGonagall calls. The hall falls completely silent until Artemis grabs Harry's arm.
"Good luck. You'll be brilliant in any house." She says. He nods and moves to sit on the stool. The hat contemplates for a moment before Harry whispers something, squeezing his eyes shut. The hat thinks for another moment.
"Gryffindor!" The hat announces.
The Gryffindor table stands as they cheer and clap loudly. Artemis cheers the loudest for her new friend, laughing as she hears the twins bragging about getting Harry in their house.
Once the applause has died down, McGonagall continues with the sorting, eventually calling out Artemis's name. She wipes her sweaty hands on her robes before climbing the steps and sitting on the stool. She takes a deep breath as the hat is placed on her head.
The hat is silent for a long while, so long she watches as the older students begin whispering to each other. She spots her brothers staring worriedly at her, quickly looking away as the Sorting Hat begins speaking to her.
"Ah, a perfect match for each house. Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, or Gryffindor. Hmm, where to put you." The hat tells her, hoping to hear her opinion.
"I have to be in Gryffindor, just like my family." She replies. The hat is silent for another moment as it considers this.
"Yes, your parents were both in Gryffindor. If you're sure, then...Gryffindor!" The hat tells her, the last word shouted to the rest of the hall.
She sighs in relief, yanking the hat off and thrusting it into McGonagall's hands. She rushes to sit at the Gryffindor table, unable to look anywhere but the floor.
"I think that's the most stressed I've ever been in my entire life." She says, sitting on the bench next to Harry and finally raising her head to look at the others at the table.
"You were a hatstall! They're incredibly rare!" Fred tells her.
"I think I'm going to be sick." She groans, her anxiety returning with a vengeance.
"It's not a bad thing, Em. It just means the hat took longer than five minutes to decide. What did it tell you?" Percy asks.
"Can we talk about this later?" She asks, trying her best to disappear inside her robes, embarrassed. She doesn't hear Ron being sorted into Gryffindor too, only noticing when he sits across from her. She smiles proudly at him, but only emerges from hiding once the sorting is over and the room grows louder as students begin talking.
"What did the hat tell you?" Ron asks.
"It doesn't matter, I've just remembered something the hat told me!" She exclaims, her embarrassment from the hatstall forgotten. "My parents were in Gryffindor!"
"Well, yeah, our whole family's been in Gryffindor." He replies. She rolls her eyes.
"My parents. Maybe if I find out more information about them, I can figure out who they are!" She says. Ron opens his mouth to argue but is interrupted by Professor McGonagall tapping her spoon against her glass.
"Your attention, please." She tells the students. Dumbledore stands, looking at the students.
"Let the feast begin." He announces.
The first years gasp as food appears in front of them. Ron immediately begins eating, his argument completely forgotten. The table is mostly silent as everyone eats, starving after the journey to Hogwarts.
"Say, Percy, who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?" Harry asks.
"Oh, that's Professor Snape, head of Slytherin house." He answers.
"What does he teach?" Artemis asks, curious as to which teacher teaches what.
"Potions. But everyone knows it's the Dark Arts he fancies. He's been after Quirrell's job for years." He tells her.
The group around them jumps as a ghost's head appears through the table in front of them. Artemis gasps, fascinated by the man.
"Hello. How are you? Welcome to Gryffindor." He greets. They look around as more ghosts enter the Great Hall and Artemis smiles, knowing she already never wants to leave Hogwarts.
"Hello, Sir Nicholas. Have a nice summer?" Percy asks the ghost as he floats from the table.
"Dismal, once again, my request to join the headless hunt has been denied." He replies.
"Oh, you're Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington! Percy's told me all about you. It's great to meet you!" Artemis says. The ghost smiles at her, turning to Ron as he gasps.
"You're Nearly-Headless Nick!" He exclaims.
"I prefer Sir Nicholas, if you don't mind." The ghost tells him.
"Nearly headless? How can you be nearly headless?" Hermione asks.
"Like this." He replies, grabbing his hair. He pulls and his head detaches almost completely from his neck. Ron screams and Artemis rolls her eyes. Nick returns his head and floats away, further down the table.
The students continue eating and chatting, getting to know their fellow Gryffindors.
***
Later, Percy leads the first year Gryffindors towards their common room. As they near the tower, they hear cackling and Peeves appears in front of them.
"Peeves, let us pass." Percy demands. Peeves cackles again and swoops towards the students. Many duck, but Percy and Artemis stay standing.
"You're Peeves? You're even more brilliant than Fred and George said! I love your hat!" She tells the poltergeist. He stops and turns to look at her, shocked at her admiration and kindness. He floats towards her, and she glances at Percy before moving away so he can't hear. "Can you give me some tips on avoiding Filch? The twins say he's horrible, and I'd quite like to enjoy my first week here without having to worry about him."
"Don't you worry about Filch. I'll keep him busy with my pranks on the new students." He tells her. He winks at her, swooping at the first years again before disappearing into the floor. Artemis laughs and returns to Harry and Ron, ignoring Percy's shocked staring.
"Peeves just told me he knew my father when he came to Hogwarts. At this rate, I'll figure out who my parents are in no time!" She says excitedly as they continue towards the common room.